The UN envoy for Western Sahara holds meetings with the representatives of Spain and the Polisario Front

MADRID, 30 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The envoy of the United Nations Secretary General for Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, held this Thursday separate meetings with the representatives of Spain, the United States and the Polisario Front before the international organization to address the situation surrounding the conflict over Western Sahara .

De Mistura has held meetings with the permanent representative of Spain to the UN, Agustín Santos Maraver; the representative of the Polisario Front in New York, Sidi Omar; and the 'number two' of the US legation, Jeffrey DeLaurentis, as confirmed by the United Nations Department of Political Affairs on its account on the social network Twitter.

After that, Omar has specified in his Twitter account that the meeting was aimed at addressing "informal consultations" before De Mistura appears before the UN Security Council to discuss the situation. "We have discussed the UN peace process and I have reiterated the position of the Polisario Front on this and other issues," he stressed.

De Mistura was scheduled to hold "bilateral consultations" with representatives of the Polisario Front and Morocco before the next United Nations Security Council briefing in April, the spokesman for the United Nations General Secretariat, Stéphane, confirmed on Tuesday. Dujarric, who explained that they would have the participation of representatives from Algeria, Mauritania and members of the "Group of Friends", including Spain, the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom and France.

The Moroccan Foreign Minister, Naser Burita, recently stressed that the solution to the conflict around Western Sahara "can only be conceived within the framework of the United Nations and on the basis of the Moroccan autonomy plan", supported by several countries, including Spain. In contrast, the Polisario Front has rejected this path and has stressed that Madrid's position "does not benefit peace and stability" in the region.

The former Spanish colony was occupied despite the resistance of the Polisario Front, with whom it remained at war until 1991, when both parties signed a ceasefire with a view to holding a self-determination referendum, but differences over the preparation of the census and the inclusion or not of Moroccan settlers has so far prevented its call.

On November 14, 2020, the Polisario Front declared the ceasefire with Morocco broken in response to a Moroccan military action against Saharawi activists in Guerguerat, in the agreed demilitarized zone, which meant for the Saharawis a violation of the conditions of the Stop the fire.